This is a surname derived from the occupation of the owner, in this case that of weaving. It is the feminine form of Webba, the general term, Webber masculine, Webster feminine.
(I) John Webster came to Ipswich, Massachusetts, from Ipswich, county Suffolk, England, 1631. He was made a freeman, March 4, 1635. He married Mary Shatswell, sister of John, who remembered her in his will, made in 1646, after she had become a widow, thus: "To my sister Webster about seven yards of stuff to make her a sutte." John Webster died about 1642, leaving children: John (2), Stephen, Hannah, Elizabeth, Israel and Nathan.
(II) Stephen, son of John and Mary (Shatswell) Webster, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, died in Haverhill, August 10, 1694. He moved with his mother and stepfather, John Emery, to Newbury, and then to Haverhill, Massachusetts, 1653. He was a tailor by trade. He married (first) Hannah, daughter of John Ayer, of Salisbury, March 24, 1662-63; she died June 2, 1676. He married (second) Mrs. Judith Broad, a widow, May 26, 1678. Children of Stephen and Hannah (Ayer) Webster: Hannah, John, Mary, Stephen, Nathan and Abigail.
(III) Nathan, son of Stephen and Hannah (Ayer) Webster, was born November 14, 1674, died August 16, 1741. He married Sarah Low, who died April 7, 1741. Children: Sarah, Martha, Thomas, Nathan, Jonathan, Nathan and David.
(IV) Jonathan, son of Nathan and Sarah (Low) Webster, was born December 13, 1713. He married, October 25, 1739, Abigail Duston (or Dustin), born December 14, 1718, died August 28, 1782. Abigail Duston was a granddaughter of Thomas and Hannah Duston, who are famed for courageous actions during the first Indian general attack on Haverhill, Massachusetts, March 15, 1697; he for his bravery in saving his seven children from capture, and she for her endurance in braving the rigors of a winter of Indian captivity, escaping in the spring with Mary Neff, another prisoner, and a boy, after they had slain and scalped ten of their Indian captors. A monument in Haverhill commemorates her bravery, and another, on Dustin's Island, where the Indians were killed. Children of Jonathan and Abigail Webster: Enos, Nathan, Mary, Abigail, Jonathan, David, Stephen, see forward; Isaiah, Joshua, Abigail, Martha and Caleb.
(V) Stephen (2), son of Jonathan and Abigail (Duston) Webster, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, died in Concord, New Hampshire, April 24, 1845. He was a soldier of the revolution and served through three campaigns. He was engaged at the battles of Saratoga, Stony Point and Diamond Island. In 1803 he removed to Concord, New Hampshire, where he died. He married Chloe Wheeler, born in Salem, New Hampshire, November 28, 1760, died January 10, 1838. Children:
- Jonathan, see forward.
- Stephen, born October 4, 1781; married Anne Woodman.
- Richard, July 22, 1783; married Rhoda Abbott.
- Esther, June 14, 1786; married Moses Belknap, son of Admiral Belknap, U. S. N.
- David, January 4, 1790; married May Wilson.
- Daniel, January 28, 1793; married Abigail Woodman.
- Susanna, January 28, 1796; married Nathan Call.
- Atkinson, December 27, 1797; married Rebecca Smart.
- James, April 25, 1800; married Mary E. Moody.
(VI) Jonathan (2), eldest son of Stephen (2) and Chloe (Wheeler) Webster, was born April 11, 1780, died in Concord, New Hampshire. He lived in Augusta, Maine, for a time, then removed to Concord, where he lived until his death. He married Elcy Haskell in December, 1808, probably at Augusta, as there she was born and in 1823 died. Children:
- Elcy, born 1804.
- Caroline, 1812.
- Stephen, 1814.
- Susan, 1817.
- Joshua, 1819.
- Jasper, see forward.
- Mary, 1823.
(VII) Jasper, sixth child and youngest son of Jonathan and Elcy (Haskell) Webster, was born in Augusta, Maine, July 14, 1821, died in Troy, New York, November 25, 1898, where he is, buried in beautiful "Oakwood." He was educated in Augusta, where his mother died when he was but two years old. He was taken and tenderly reared by his Grandmother Haskell, with whom he lived for many years. He began work on the railroad at the age of sixteen, a line of business he never abandoned. He rose rapidly and was soon in charge of other men and their work. He was roadmaster with the Boston & Maine railroad, and later became master of all their bridge construction. In the latter work he was an expert not only in construction but in planning. His work took him over the entire Boston & Maine system, necessitating his being almost constantly away from his home, which was at Troy, New York. He was very domestic in his tastes, fond of home, family and his books. He was a member of the Episcopal church and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Webster married, November 17, 1856, Emily De Silva Cushing, born January 29, 1830, in Troy, New York (see Cushing VII). Children:
- Emily De Silva (2), resides in Troy with her mother.
- Daniel, born July 21, 1860, died February 24, 1862.
- Edward A., December 20, 1862; married Virginia Price, June 29, 1896, and has a son Theodore, born in Troy, August 9, 1899.
- Dr. Stephen Henry, October 27, 1865, in Troy; studied medicine at Albany, New York, and Polyclinic Institute, New York City, also in Europe, and became one of the best known, popular and skillful physicians of the city, where he died January 6, 1899. He married Mabel Carpenter and left no issue.
- Jasper C., a twin of Dr. Stephen, married Kate Spicer and has
- Edward, born February 3, 1891;
- Howard, July 25, 1893, and
- Stephen R., March 7, 1896.
- Elcy W., resides in Troy with her mother and sister, Emily De Silva.
(The Cushing Line)
"Few families in the country have been more celebrated than the Cushings, and probably none has furnished more judges for our Probate, Municipal and Supreme Courts." (Barry's History of Hanover, Mass.) [Editorial note: John S. Barry, A Historical Sketch of the Town of Hanover, Mass., with Family Genealogies.] The derivation of the name is somewhat uncertain. The present form is used by all the American descendants of Matthew Cushing, and the English and Irish branches use the same spelling. In various wills and deeds made prior to the sixteenth century the name is spelled in so many different ways that it would tax one's ingenuity to find another. The different families used coats-of-arms of varying device, there being no one in general use. The only crest widely used by the family is as follows: "Two lion's gambo erased sable supporting a ducal coronet or, from which hangs a human heart gules." The motto, "Virtute et numine" (by valor and divine aid), has also been in general use. The English ancestry is traced to William Cushing (Cusuyn or Cusseyn), born during the fourteenth century, and from him through eight generations to Matthew, American ancestor and emigrant. Peter, father of Matthew Cushing, was born at Hardingham, England. His wife was Susan Hawes. Peter was probably the first of the family to embrace the Protestant religion, as the wills of his father and eldest brother are not in the Protestant form.
(I) Matthew, son of Peter and Susan (Hawes) Cushing, was born in Hardingham, England, where he was baptized March 2, 1589. He married Nazareth, daughter of Henry Pitcher, of the famous Admiral Pitcher family. He lived in Hardingham and Hingham, Norfolk county, England, the first fifty years of his life, until 1638, when with his wife and five children he embarked in the ship "Diligent," John Martin, master, from Gravesend, April 26, 1638, and landed in Boston, Massachusetts, August 10, 1638. He located at Hingham, Massachusetts, so named after his former English home. A house lot of five acres was granted him, that was in possession of the family until 1887. He was a deacon of the church, and it is well established that he was the progenitor of all the United States and Canada Cushings excepting arrivals during the past century. Children, all born in Hingham, England: Daniel, Jeremiah, Matthew (2), Deborah and John.
(II) John, youngest son of Matthew and Nazareth (Pitcher) Cushing, was born in Hingham, England, 1627, died in Scituate, Massachusetts, March 31, 1708. His life was spent in the public service. He was surveyor of highways, collector of excises, many times deputy to the colony, selectman twelve years, county magistrate seven years, assistant to the Plymouth Colony government, representative to the general court for several years, member of the council and colonel of the Plymouth regiment. His wife was Sarah Hawke; children: John, Thomas, Matthew, see forward; Jeremiah, James, Joshua, Sarah, Caleb, Deborah, Mary, Joseph and Benjamin.
(III) Matthew (2), third son of John and Sarah (Hawke) Cushing, was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, in February, 1665, died May 18, 1715. He was a wheelwright, and by earnings and inheritance became very wealthy for his day, his estate appraising 2,535 pounds. He was selectman in 1703-04-13-14. He married Deborah, daughter of Captain John Jacob, of the influential and wealthy Jacob family. Children, all born in Hingham, Massachusetts: Jacob, Matthew (3), see forward; Deborah, Hezekiah, Rachel, Josiah, Sarah and Noah.
(IV) Matthew (3), second son of Matthew (2) and Deborah (Jacob) Cushing, was born May 22, 1698. He married Mary, daughter of Josiah Leavitt, and granddaughter of Deacon John Leavitt, of Hingham, Massachusetts. About 1718 they removed to Rehoboth, where all their children were born: Mary, Deborah, Rachel, Margaret, Sarah, Matthew (4), see forward; Leavitt, Ruth, married Lieutenant Kent, a hero of the French, Indian and revolutionary wars.
(V) Matthew (4), eldest son of Matthew (3) and Mary (Leavitt) Cushing, was born July 29, 1730, died in December, 1813. He removed to Vermont. His first wife was Priscilla Smith, who bore him a son, Matthew (5). He married (second) Abigail Titus; children: Noah, see forward; Benjamin, Joseph, Molly (1), Molly (2), Benjamin (2) and Asaph.
(VI) Noah, eldest child of Matthew (4) and his second wife, Abigail (Titus) Cushing, was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, June 9, 1752. He removed to Rockingham, Vermont, where he died. His wife was Abigail Seackling; children: Noah, settled at Three Rivers, Quebec; Abigail; Matthew; Melinda; Jason, settled in Michigan; Charles, settled in the west; Dennis, settled in Michigan; Levi; Alvin Duncan, see forward; Hannah; Elizabeth. It is supposed the daughters went to Maine; one married a Baptist minister.
(VII) Alvin Duncan, youngest son of Noah and Abigail (Seackling) Cushing, was born in Linden, Vermont, February 21, 1800, died in Troy, New York, January 3, 1855. He removed to Troy early in life. He learned the trade of gunsmith and was in business there until his death. He was a public-spirited man and did his part well in the upbuilding of a town. He held some of the city offices, and was a member of the Troy City Band, a famous musical organization in the "forties." He married Emily De Silva De Souza, born in Lansingburg, New York, October 23, 1805, died in Troy, February 12, 1856. Children:
- Joseph A., born September 24, 1826.
- Josiah Jason Imanuel, June 15, 1828.
- Emily De Silva (Mrs. Jasper Webster; see Webster VII).
- Edward Gayus, December 23, 1831.
- Mary Jane, 1834.
- Delia Bradshaw, May 12, 1836.
- Sarah Ann, March 12, 1839.
- Julia Adiencourt, May 8, 1841.